Over the years, RAGBRAI has become a nice profit center for the Des Moines Register and their corporate owner, Gannett. Each year, it becomes a little more "corporate" and they squeeze the vendors harder and harder for a slice of the pie. So it was kind of delicious to watch their Carson King muckraking backfire so spectacularly.
I don't know exactly what TJ wanted to say but couldn't, but many of the Iowa cyclists I know figure this incident was just the straw that broke the camel's back. If TJ and the other organizers really wanted to destroy RAGBRAI, they would have simply quit. Starting a new ride allows them more freedom to continue the tradition we enjoy without DSM/Gannett's meddling and stipulations.
Logistically, it will be interesting to see how things shake out. I suspect that within a year or two, one of the rides will fizzle out, and everyone will come together for the one that survives. On the other hand, having 20,000 people split between two rides wouldn't be the end of the world for those of us who thinks RAGBRAI gets too crowded at times. Either way, I think the outlook is good for us riders.
